fir needles
by PablosGirl
Summary: When Tonsk and her Auror colleagues leave on a dangerous mission, the young witch doesn't know that on this evening, nothing will go as planned... A different take on how Tonks and Remus met for the first time - slightly AU. Oneshot. Rated T just to be on the safe side.


**Hello everyone and welcome to my oneshot "fir needles"!**

**As you will probably notice, I'm not a native speaker. But I hope there aren't too many mistakes ;) **

**So, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. **

**I appreciate every review! :)**

**PablosGirl**

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*disclaimer* Nothing's mine, everything belongs to the great J. and of course I don't make money with this.

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* * *

Nervously the young witch turned her wand around in her small hands, while she waited for further instructions with her colleagues.

The sturdily built men around her were unusually nervous, too, because the mission which lay ahead of them would me different to anything else before.

Unpredictable, with unsure chance of success and much more risky, namely on a different level...

The Aurors forbid themselves to think about it, but only one wrong move, one second of inattention and they could turn from hunter into prey.

A tremendous risk...

Nymphadora Tonks, who hated her forename like poison, was a young Auror and a very special one on top of that.

If it hadn't already been unusual enough that a woman became an Auror, Tonks also finished her training in record time and had been working as a fully trained Auror for quite a while now.

Not to mention her being a Metamorphmagus.

.

"Let's start," said the deep voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt and snapped Tonks out of her thoughts.

One last deep breath... then about a dozen figures disapparated to magically appear again in a forest miles away.

"Alright then. Todd, McCarthy, Wilson, we'll go this way. We'll head west. Tonks, Blaire, Johnson, you'll go over there. Moody, Kent, Jennings, you'll go this way. Five minutes, then we should have encircled them. We'll see us then."

With these words Shacklebolt turned away and disappeared between the trees with his companions.

Tonks nodded to her colleagues one last time and then they started to move, too.

Again and again, Tonks looked into the sky through the branches.

Everything not hidden by the trees was covered in silverfish light from the already threateningly full moon.

Tonks shivered although she wasn't freezing.

Buried in thought she bumped into her colleague, who had suddenly stopped in front of her.

With a serious expression on his face he pressed a finger on his lips and pointed at the clearing in front of them.

Several hooded figures were standing around a big bonfire and looked into the woods surrounding them from time to time.

There were many of them...more than Tonks had expected.

And for her liking they were observing the twilight around them, her hiding spot, way too vigilantly.

For one second Tonks thought that one of them looked directly into her eyes from under their hood.

Impossible...she was standing in near darkness.

"We'll wait for Kingsley's signal, and then we'll attack. Remember, only kill if it's necessary and shock, disarm and chain as many as possible. There!" her colleague said and pointed excitedly towards the opposite forest edge, above which red sparks emerged into the night sky.

Tonks and her colleagues ran onto the clearing but the hooded men seemed to have only waited for their signal, too.

Within a few seconds, wands were drawn everywhere and curses lightened the clearing.

Often many of these men attacked one single Auror together, making use of the chaos.

Tonks already had her hands full repelling the curses, let alone striking back.

But after a few minutes the number of enemies seemed to drop and some already started to flee.

One of them, who had still been duelling Tonks a few seconds ago, looked around hectically and ran off into the woods.

Tonks followed him immediately.

.

But when she reached the forest and the silver light faded, she lost sight of him.

"Damnit!" she cursed and spun around.

Slowly and carefully, her wand raised ready to attack, she walked over the soft, mossy forest floor and listened for any crackle, no matter how quiet.

She stopped, strained not to make any noise herself.

"Stupor!"

The shout and bright flash behind her back made Tonks whip around, just in time to see a ferocious looking man fall to the ground.

Tonks had searched the darkness for one of her colleagues, when someone grabbed her from behind, clutched her arms, covered her mouth and pulled her into the thicket.

With her eyes widened in shock, Tonks stared at the wand right in front of her eyes, which was held by the hand pressing on her mouth.

Breathing heavily she tried to break free but the arms around her were too strong and she could barely move a few millimetres.

"Shhh!",a voice made right beside her ear and Tonks could feel the breath on her skin.

A cold shiver went down her spine, but only a few seconds later she froze again.

Only a few metres away a dark figure sneaked through the forest, so silent, she never would have noticed him before he would have shocked her.

The man, who held her, seemed to be frozen. His breath had stopped and he didn't make any noise at all.

In her fear, Tonks mimicked him.

Then the hooded figure perked up his ears, stopped and ran off towards the clearing again.

For a few seconds the man behind Tonks remained silent, looked after him and then took a deep, exhausted breath.

Tonks was terrified, started to shiver and was already waiting for the worst, when the stranger suddenly let go of her...or rather pushed her away.

Tonks turned around reflexively, her wand raised and breathing heavily, and looked at the man, who slowly backed away facing her.

His wand was raised, too, but obviously not to attack...

.

His hood had slid from his head, uncovering the stranger's face.

His cheeks were covered in a thick three-day-beard and some streaks of greyish-brown hair fell onto his sweaty forehead.

And yet Tonks could see the fine, silverfish scars on his skin.

The look in his deep-brown eyes was wary, if not even scared.

Only now, Tonks noticed how young he was, thirtyish, maybe.

He was still tumbling backwards, when Tonks remembered her duty.

"Stop!",she yelled and pointed her wand at him.

He instantly stopped, slowly put away his wand and raised his hands.

"Just let me-" he started with a throaty voice, broke off and stared past her.

Only seconds later, a bluish flash hit him and he was thrown against a tree, where he slumped down with a groan.

"Tonks!" yelled one of her colleagues and touched her shoulder while another Auror disarmed and chained him.

Tonks wanted so say something, opened her mouth but closed it again without a word.

"We were worried about you. When you chased this guy, two others followed you,"her colleague muttered. "Come on."

"I'm okay..." she whispered and looked into the stranger's brown eyes, as he was lead away by the Auror.

.

When they arrived back at the Ministry, the other shift took the captives off of them.

For a few moments they tiredly sat down in the office.

Tonks was overwhelmed by everything that had happened during the last half an hour and so she just sat in her chair, staring into the nothingness.

"Tonks? Could you bring the one in cell seven to the interrogation room?",Kingsley startled her.

"Huh? Sure..." she answered hastily and stood up.

"Is everything okay, Tonks?" Kingsley asked and glanced at her.

"Yeah, sure. Don't worry," she lied and left the office.

Her feet walked through the corridor on their own, down two staircases into the dungeons.

5...

6...

7.

Tonks took a deep breath, then she pointed her wand at the lock, mumbled something and the door flung open, revealing a dim room.

A man with sagging shoulders, his hands bound together tightly, was sitting on a wooden bench at the left wall.

Tonks' heart skipped a beat, when her eyes met the Werewolf's deep-brown ones.

"I have to bring you to the interrogation room," she said with a dry mouth and tried to sound as confident as possible.

He nodded shortly, stood up and walked past her out of the cell, just as if he already knew the procedure.

She pressed her wand between his shoulder blades and let him walk in front of her.

.

"Sit down," she said, when they entered the interrogation room.

He sat down unresistingly.

Holding her wand firmly, Tonks slowly walked around the table.

But the stranger kept his eyes down.

And so Tonks inhaled with a start, as he suddenly raised his eyes and looked directly into hers.

He was taller than he had been in her memory.

He looked tired, had scratches and bruises on his face and forearms, which were exposed due to the rolled up sleeves of his shirt.

The thought about how close she had been to him only an hour ago, sent cold shivers down her spine.

He was a Werewolf, he could have killed her...

_But he didn't!,_ Tonks thought and now many other things came to her mind.

_Why didn't he just kill her? _

_Why did he protect her from one of his kind?_

_But if she thought about it...it wasn't his fault that he was "one of his kind". _

_No one chose to be a Werewolf._

_So, for what reason were they detaining him here?_

Her eyes came off his' and got caught again on his wrists.

They were bound together so tightly with rough, magic ropes, that he couldn't move them at all.

Under the ropes there were already dark red bruises on his skin.

"Are those too tight?" she asked and looked at him again.

He looked at her for a few seconds and Tonks already felt the urge to look away, when he nodded silently.

"I can only loosen them, but I can't take them off entirely," she said and stepped up to the table.

"Okay," he mumbled with a throaty voice.

She carefully tapped the ropes with her wand and they loosened immediately.

Thankfully he moved his hands a little, clenching a fist and stretching his fingers.

"Thank you very much," he said and glimpsed at her.

Indecisively she stood there next to him.

"Are you going to question me?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

"No, but I have to note down your information," she answered and already wanted to grab some parchment and a quill.

"I'm already registered," he said calmly.

Tonks thought she had misheard that...

.

"You...? Then...then I'll have to check your information. Only then Mr. Shacklebolt can question you," she stuttered.

Why did he confuse her like that?

Nonetheless she sat down and grabbed her writing utensils.

"Name?"

"Remus John Lupin."

The quill scratched over the parchment.

"Age?"

"35."

As if she had to check, she looked up from her writing.

He looked onto the table with a small smirk on his lips.

And now she couldn't stop herself from smiling either.

Scribble, scribble, scribble...

"Place of residence?"

"London."

Scribble, scribble...

"Year of infection?"

"1968."

Silence...

Forgetting about her professionalism, Tonks looked up unbelievingly.

But Lupin only looked at her calmly.

"But then you must've been-"

"Only eight, I know."

For a few seconds she looked at his unreadable expression, hesitated and then started to write.

Scribble, scribble, scribble...

"Okay, that's all...just one last thing," she said and looked up.

"2023", Lupin said knowingly.

"I'm afraid I have to check on that," she said slowly after she had noted down the number.

Looking away now, he nodded and sat more sideways on his chair.

She stood up nervously and walked up next to him.

He opened the upper buttons of his shirt as good as he could with his bound hands and pushed it off his left shoulder.

With shivering fingers she pushed the light grey cotton a bit deeper and her fingers inevitably touched his warm skin, and he immediately got goose bumps.

Here and there thin, silverfish lines covered his skin.

She carefully touched his shoulder blade with her wand and mumbled something.

Slowly but surely, dark, curved numbers appeared, contrasting with his skin in pitch-black.

2023

In the corner of her eye she could see how he pressed his jaws together.

After a few seconds the numbers faded again, leaving burning red marks.

Tonks quickly put the shirt back on his shoulder.

"Why did you do that?" she asked quietly, her hand still on the fabric of his shirt.

"What?" he asked and turned his head and his cheek brushed against the back of her hand.

Quickly she drew back her hand but still felt the prickle of his beard on her skin.

With red cheeks she sat down again.

.

Why was she so confused...of course, he was a Werewolf and yet he had saved her life...but there was something about him that fascinated her in a completely different way.

"Why did you shock one of them? Why did you hold me back instead of killing me?" she asked right away and looked at him.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked softly but Tonks didn't understand. "Well, when I clutched your arms...did I hurt you? I'm sorry, if I did...but I had to do it. You struggled too much, who can blame you? But he would've killed you."

She looked at him in disbelief.

"I don't understand," She answered. "You could've killed me, why didn't you just do it and run away?"

"Why should I?" he asked and looked at her with a piercing glance.

"Well, I mean you're..." she said but broke off again.

Why was she suddenly lost for words?

But the way he sat in front of her...the Werewolf...with no aggression or anger at all, nearly gentle and yet wild, made her question seem illogical.

"I'm a Werewolf, yes. But that doesn't mean I have to kill you," he said quietly.

"But it doesn't mean you have to protect me, either. You didn't have to care," she said and watched him carefully.

"I didn't have to, yes. But I did..." he said.

"But why have you been there, then? If you're not on their side, what draws you there?" she asked with open incomprehension in her voice.

"Didn't you say, that you wouldn't question me?" he just asked and a small smirk appeared on his lips.

.

Then suddenly the door opened and Kingsley Shacklebolt entered the room.

The Werewolf didn't even turn around but kept staring at the young woman.

"Thank you Tonks, I'll take over from here. But I'll need you once we're done here," her superior said with a calm voice.

The mood within the room had changed since he had entered.

Tonks only couldn't describe in which way...

"I'll wait outside," she said briefly and left the room.

She sat on a bench outside the cell for about 15 minutes and thought about the last minutes with the Werewolf.

_His piercing and yet unreadable, brown eyes._

_His wild appearance, the fact that he was a Werewolf, which didn't fit his gentle voice and behaviour..._

_His warm skin with fine, silver lines under her fingers...he had gotten goose bumps, when she touched him...just like herself._

_Had her hands been cold? Actually not..._

_Wait! Why was she thinking about that at all? He was a stranger, a Werewolf for Merlin's sake!_

But right at this moment the door opened in front of her and Kingsley stepped into the corridor.

The Werewolf was standing behind him in the cell, his hands still bound together, and looked at her over Kingsley's shoulder.

"Would you be so kind as to take the manacles off of Mr. Lupin? He can go then," Kingsley said calmly and left through the corridor.

Unbelievingly Tonks looked after him.

"Err..."

"Oh, sorry," Tonks mumbled and stepped into the room again.

He held his wrists out to her as good as he could with the ropes tied around them.

When she suddenly looked up from his hands, she stared directly into his eyes again.

Chills went down her spine and Lupin seemed to feel caught looking at her, too.

And yet he didn't look away.

The smell of the woods reached her nostrils.

"Thanks," he murmured and cleared his throat, while she put the magic ropes on the desk.

She only nodded and he already wanted to leave, as she held him back.

"Wait!" she said and he turned around, standing in the doorway.

She didn't say anything, so he stepped a bit closer again.

"Let me see your hands," she smiled invitingly and he hesitantly held his wrists out again.

Tonks touched the bruises gently with her fingers and he inhaled with a hiss.

"I'm sorry, just give me a second," she said quietly, touched his skin with the tip of her wand, whispered something he couldn't understand and within seconds his skin was as good as new.

"Thank you," he smiled and even looked a bit shy now.

"I have to thank you, Mr. Lupin. I still don't know why you've done it, but without you I probably wouldn't be standing here right now. Thank you very much!" she said and smirked.

"You're welcome," he mumbled and looked into her eyes.

Then suddenly a strand of pink hair fell into her eyes and Tonks was sure she saw his hand flinch.

Slightly blushing he looked to the floor and turned around to leave.

"Take care," he said and left the room.

"You too!" she yelled after him, but he had already left.

.

.

During the next days it was very quiet at the Aurors' office.

There were no outdoor missions, no emergencies, nothing.

Nothing but dull paperwork.

And so Tonks' thoughts often wandered off to this one day.

Back then in the woods, she had felt nothing but fear, as she was pressed against the chest of a stranger, of a Werewolf...

But now a warm sensation spread across her back because she knew who had held her back.

The only problem was that she would probably never see him again...but why did she even bother?

She didn't even know him!

Annoyed by herself she returned to her work until Kingsley came to her desk after her shift was over.

"Ready to go?" he asked and smiled at her.

"Sure...although I have to say that I'd prefer to know where I am going..." she murmured but followed him without any objections.

Her curiosity won again...

.

After they had walked for a few minutes and arrived in a deserted alley, they disapparated.

When she felt solid ground under her feet again, Tonks stood in the turning bay of a dark, dirty road.

Old brick building surrounded her, towering into the night sky.

"Here, memorise this!" Kingsley said and handed her a small note.

12 Grimmauldplace

"Kingsley, what am I supposed-"

"Come on." he interrupted her and took her with him towards the boundary between the numbers 11 and 13.

But as they got closer a whole new house squeezed in between them out of nothing.

Number 12.

With a whisk of his wand Kingsley opened the front door and they entered a dark hallway with old, dark-green wallpapers and dark wood panelling on the walls.

To their left, a narrow staircase led into the upper storeys, but she couldn't see anything else, because it was just too dark up there.

Kingsley, however, led her to a door on the right, from which warm light and the hum of voices flooded into the dark hallway.

They seemed to be awaited.

"Ah, there you are," an old wizard with a long white beard and half-moon glasses said cheerfully, as they entered the kitchen.

_No way! Albus Dumbledore?!_

"May I have your attention, everyone? This here is Nymphadora Tonks, a new member to the order! Now that she's here we can start the meeting."

Tonks sat down next to Kingsley, completely overwhelmed by all this information, which threatened to flood her.

She looked around and recognized surprisingly many of the faces.

Arthur Weasley, Mad-Eye...and Sirius Black!

But what shocked her even more than the hunted mass murderer, was the man who was sitting next to him and directly looked into her eyes over his glass of wine.

It was Lupin.

.

But now he looked even more tired, than at their first encounter.

He had dark circles around his eyes and his rolled up sleeves revealed several scratches, bruises and even a bandage on his forearm.

On the one hand, she was somehow happy to see him again, but on the other hand she was confused and worried because of his condition.

All that seemed to act out on her face, too, because when she awoke from her thoughts and her eyes focused on his face again, he looked at her with knitted brows.

She quickly looked away and felt the blood rush to her cheeks...

The meeting went on, even though Tonks couldn't make any use of the information.

But then she started to listen attentively again.

"Remus, would you be so kind as to bring us up to date?" Dumbledore asked Lupin softly.

"Sure. But there's not much we don't know already. He still tries to win the Werewolves over, he wants to convince them that society despises them and that there's no room for them...and that's not that difficult."

Tonks had to swallow hard.

"He also tries to convince them that their situation will get better under Voldemort. And some already follow him. That's all I have."

"Thank you Remus. Unfortunately I have to ask you to keep an eye on it on a regular basis," Dumbledore said and Lupin nodded, looking into his wine.

"Well, I think we can end the official part here and proceed to something much more pleasant. Once again, Molly has made us all a wonderful dinner!" Dumbledore smiled.

As soon as he had finished the sentence, Black jumped up and hurried to leave the kitchen.

Remus followed him at first but resigned and stopped at the door.

"Let him be, Remus. He'll probably get something tonight. He won't starve. But you'll eat with us, right dear?" Molly said to him from her pots and pans.

"I...actually...I don't know yet, but I'll be back in a minute," he murmured and left into the hallway.

Tonks' followed him with her eyes.

She stood up impromptu and went after him.

.

When she left the kitchen she noticed a fire in a room to her right at the end of the hallway...and a man standing in front of it.

Slowly and as quietly as possible she walked towards the room, which appeared to be a salon or living-room of some sort.

Just before she reached the door, she stumbled over something heavy and sprawled onto the old parquet.

"Hey, is everything alright?" a deep voice asked and Tonks held onto the offered forearm, to stand up.

But a sharp hiss made her loosen her grip again.

Lupin stood in front of her, rolling down his sleeve again with a painful expression on his face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm such an idiot! Maybe I can do something about that," she said quickly to cover her embarrassment and to make up for her mistake.

"No, it's okay!" he said and pulled his arm away.

But as he looked at her hurt expression, he felt bad.

"I didn't mean it, sorry. I just don't think before I talk sometimes..." he mumbled.

"It's okay...but maybe I could really help you," she said and smiled at him.

And so he rolled up his sleeve again with a sigh.

The bandage had turned slightly red.

Without hesitating she held his wrist and rolled the bandage off his arm, revealing a deep scratch, which had to have just opened again.

She looked guilty at him.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't want to hurt you," she said and sounded at least as guilty as she looked.

But he only smirked.

And so she carefully touched the wound with her wand, while Lupin clenched his teeth.

"There you go!" she said pleased. "As good as new."

.

She looked up at him, infecting him with her wide smile, and he blushed a little.

"Is everything okay, Mr. Lupin?" she eventually asked.

"Hm?"

"Well, you just left in such a hurry..." she said quietly and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh...no, I'm just a bit tired, that's all. And I'm worried about Sirius," he said, running his fingers through his hair.

"Who did that? And why didn't you treat the scratch earlier? It could become infected," she said, without thinking.

A crooked smile appeared on his lips and he leant on the sofa behind him with his arms crossed.

"That was me...and I just didn't have the time yet," he said quietly.

How could she be that clumsy? How could she not think about that...full-moon had just passed.

Her cheeks turned dark-red but before she could say anything, Molly Weasley's voice called them from behind her back.

"Come on now, you two. Dinner's ready. You could do with some more meat on your bones, love! Not to mention you, Remus..."

.

He followed her into the kitchen with a sigh.

"Not hungry?" she whispered over her shoulder, before they entered the busy room.

He shook his head and smiled.

But a big bowl with strong chicken stock already awaited them on the table.

"Who do you want to cocker with that?" Arthur joked about the soup.

"What do you mean by that?" Molly asked, punched her husband's arm and sat down.

Remus knew exactly that she had made it for him...she always made chicken stock after full-moon...what a coincidence.

But actually he was thankful, because after his transformation he couldn't eat much more than soup anyway.

Tonks observed him carefully from the corner of her eye, while he hesitantly put only very little soup into his plate.

_He really doesn't seem to be hungry_, she thought and carefully blew on her spoon so she wouldn't burn her tongue.

"Don't you want to eat any more?" Molly asked surprised when Remus sank back in his chair after he had finished his soup and didn't seem to want any meat or side dish.

"Thank you very much, Molly, I think I'll pass. But I could do with another glass," he grinned and reached for the bottle of wine.

"Well...that's a strange diet..." she mumbled but didn't try to convince him to eat anymore.

"How's the neighbourhood? I would love to get a bit of fresh air," Tonks asked Kingsley after they had all finished eating.

"A lot to stomach, right?" he smiled. "It should be okay for an Auror, but you never know."

"I could accompany her...if that's okay for you, of course," Lupin said.

"Sure, why not?" she smiled thankfully and stood up.

When she saw how thin and worn out his cloak was, she looked at him unbelievingly.

"Aren't you freezing?" she asked and looked at him with her head tilted.

"No, I'm fine," he said put his hands in his pockets and looked down himself.

"Okay," She said, shrugged her shoulders and opened the door.

They had only walked a few metres when the wind already blew against them and Tonks turned her collar up.

"Your name's Remus, right? So, Remus like-" she asked as they walked next to each other, their hands inside their pockets.

"Remus like in Romulus and Remus, from the Muggle Sage, yes. Like a bad joke, really..." he grinned.

"It's a beautiful name," she replied and smiled.

"What do you have against yours?" he asked. "Oh, and just call me Remus. No need to be formal."

"Well, I don't know, I just think it's awful. Nym-pha-do-ra...ugh!" she said and grimaced.

"However you like it," he said and shrugged his shoulders. "You must be pretty talented if you're already a fully trained Auror."

"I don't know, maybe. I like my job. Apart from this I have a little advantage," she grinned and stopped walking.

He stopped, too, tilted his head slightly and looked at her curiously.

She squinnied and within seconds her hair colour changed from pink to green, yellow, turquoise and back to pink again.

His jaw dropped a little but then an understanding wide smile spread across his lips.

"You're a Metamorphmagus," he said.

"Yep," she smiled and looked up at him. "I could've morphed into Snape, but I didn't want to scare you off."

"So you can morph however you want to? That must come in useful," he smiled.

"Yes, I can, whatever you want. Blonde? Busty? Any preferences?" she grinned jokingly.

"No, it's good as it is," he smiled and his cheeks turned deep-red.

He then quickly dropped his gaze, which made Tonks grin even wider.

"Do you want to walk a bit more?" he asked and his breath formed small clouds in the cold air.

"Sure!" she answered but couldn't avoid shivering with cold, hoping he wouldn't have seen it.

"Are you freezing?" he already asked and watched her attentively.

"I'm fine," she lied.

"Here!" he said, took off his cloak to wrap it around her shoulders.

"What? No! You'll catch your death!" she protested, as she saw that he only wore a shirt with a T-shirt under it.

"I won't," he said smiling and wrapped his cloak around her shoulders.

With his hands in his pockets he kept walking.

"You didn't have to accompany me," she said softly and felt bad because of the cloak.

"It's fine. I would've gone outside anyway...like that I can avoid Molly's attempt to fatten me," he smiled.

"To be honest, you really barely ate anything," she said softly.

"I just can't eat more after full-moon," he replied and shrugged his shoulders.

And not for the first time during the evening, Tonks remembered what he was.

"Does it...hurt very much?" she eventually asked after a few seconds.

"Like hell..." he said.

"I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry!" she murmured and looked down onto the wet, glossy street.

"Hey, it's okay," he said and tilted his head to look into her eyes. "I'm glad you still talk to me after all that, not to mention walk through dark streets with me."

"I'm not afraid of you. Okay, I was in the forest when you overpowered me, obviously," she smiled. "But you're just so..."

"Hm?" he asked and stopped walking again.

"Different. You're different from anything they say about Werewolves. You're sophisticated, calm, patient...somehow gentle," she said and blushed.

A bright smile appeared on his lips.

"Well, not always, unfortunately. At least not with myself," he said quietly and slightly moved his arm, the one Tonks had patched up a bit earlier. "But I am towards others...a lap Werewolf, you could say."

"Always?" she grinned mischievously and enjoyed the puzzled expression, which appeared on his face right before he blushed.

"Well...I'm a bit testy shortly after full-moon sometimes...can't control my temper that well," he answered and hoped he could navigate the conversation into a different, less tricky, direction.

"So...it would be worth a try?" she smiled.

"How about we go back inside, the cold doesn't seem to do you good," he smiled awkwardly.

"Well, the wine doesn't seem to either. You're face is all red," she laughed.

.

When they returned to number 12, the other members had already left.

"Merlin, you're freezing cold!" Tonks said as she handed him his cloak and brushed against his hand.

"I'm not cold," he just said and stood indecisively in the middle of the hallway. "Sooo..."

"So?"

"Do you want to drink something?" he eventually asked her and felt incredibly clumsy.

"Are you inviting me to stay for a coffee?" she winked and made him blush again.

"I had rather thought of a glass of wine," he smirked and hoped he could resist her innuendo any longer...full-moon had only been two days ago, for Merlin's sake.

"Just as well," she smiled and followed him into the Salon where he placed two glasses and the opened bottle on the coffee table.

"Remus?" she said and he turned around to her.

Surprised by how close he was to her, he flinched.

"Hm?"

"Did I already thank you for saving my life?" she asked and smiled up at him.

The smell of forest floor reached her nostrils again.

"Yes, you already did," he hurried to answer.

"Thank you," she whispered, stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, precariously close to the corner of his mouth.

He froze and looked at her in disbelief, while chills went down his spine.

"You know...there's something about you fascinating me...it already did at the Ministry," she nearly whispered and looked at him.

He returned her gaze incredulously and didn't dare to move.

One false move, one move too much, and his resistance would be gone.

"So hard to believe?" she asked nearly amused and before she had thought about it, her hand touched his neck and slowly stroked over his collarbone down to his chest, his eyes following it in disbelief.

"Tonks...I'm a Werewolf," he said as a last attempt although the thought of her rejecting him now made him flinch on the inside.

"So? If I don't mind tonight, you shouldn't either, right?" she smiled, stepped even closer to him and lifted her chin.

Her lips gently brushed against his, she kissed him one or two times and already wanted to draw back since he didn't kiss her back.

But then he suddenly framed her face with his still chilly hands and kissed her, hesitantly at first but then more and more confidently.

His finger gently ran through her hair and Tonks put her hands against his chest and leant in.

.

"Remus, do you-" Sirius Black's voice came from the door but suddenly broke off again.

Tonks and Remus instantly scattered away from each other and especially Remus looked at him with shock in his eyes.

"Oh...sorry. Just pick up where you left off," Sirius smiled and disappeared again.

Remus exhaled deeply and rubbed his face with his hands and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry, Tonks, I-" he began to say but Tonks had already stepped up to him again and began to kiss his neck and carefully bite his skin.

Only after a few seconds she felt him relax again and he eventually tilted his head willingly and growled quietly with pleasure.

His hands automatically found her sides, caressed her hips and disappeared under her shirt to gently stroke her warm, soft skin.

She willingly leant against his chest and offered him her neck, which he gently kissed while his hands wandered upwards and started to play with her bra.

"Tonks?" he whispered next to her ear with a throaty voice, which sent chills down her spine.

"Hmm?" she purred while he gently kissed her ear.

"Are you sure about this?" he whispered and carefully pushed her away a bit to look at her.

"Ever since you looked at me like that at the Ministry," she grinned and made him smile.

She couldn't know he had felt the same...

"I already thought you changed your mind," he smirked.

"What gives you that idea?" she winked.

"Well..." he grinned. "Should we...go upstairs?"

"Sure," she smiled and let him guide her upstairs, holding his hand.

When they arrived at his room, she turned around and started to kiss him again, closing the door behind her...

.

The next morning, Remus woke up first and flinched at first, as he saw Tonks next to him.

She was lying to his right, peacefully sleeping, rolled up in the blanket.

Her naked shoulders indicated that she wasn't wearing any clothes at all.

Only after a few moments, Remus remembered the last night.

Merlin...they only met yesterday...except from their first encounter, of course.

But he couldn't deny that he had been attracted by her from the first minute on.

Would she spend another night with him...who knew, but Remus wouldn't say no to it...

He carefully got up, trying not to wake her up, put on his clothes from yesterday and left the room.

A cup of tea...anything else could wait.

Tonks had still slept a while when she eventually woke up slowly.

Even before she opened her eyes, the smell of a man and forest reached her nose.

Then she suddenly remembered what had happened last night.

She looked around the room, but he was nowhere to be seen although the mattress was still warm next to her.

So she sank back into her pillow with a smile on her face and thought about everything.

She had never gotten involved with anybody that quickly before...not to mention someone, well, like him.

Was he embarrassed by it, now that last night's excitement and curiosity had vanished?

Or why else did he leave before she woke up?

He was a Werewolf...the thought triggered something inside her, but she didn't know what.

He _was_ different from anything she had ever heard about them.

Without a doubt he had to be one of the good ones, since he was a member of the order...but how should she know? She only knew him for a few hours, really...

.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when the door suddenly opened and a slightly tired looking man entered, two cups of tea in his hands.

"Oh, you're awake," he murmured and stopped dead in his track. "I just wanted to bring you some tea. I'll leave again, if you want."

"No, no problem. I was already wondering where you went," she smiled a little bit shyly while Remus handed her the cup and sat down on a chair awkwardly.

They nervously looked at each other over their cups.

"Is everything okay?" she eventually asked after he had stared into the nothingness for a while.

"Huh? Oh, yes...I'm fine. Just a little headache," he murmured.

"I know what could help with that," she grinned and broke the spell.

"So, you don't regret it?" he asked worryingly.

"Absolutely not...you?" she asked and tucked her legs up.

"No! Quite the contrary..." he smirked and sipped on his hot tea, sending her one of these looks, which send a warm sensation down her back again.

Tonks couldn't avoid grinning and lowered her gaze with red cheeks.

And so they quietly drank their teas until Remus cleared his throat.

.

"I would've brought you something to eat, but I don't know if that's common...I'm afraid my one-night-stand-knowledge is a bit rusty, you know," he said.

"No problem, I'm not that much of a breakfast-type anyway. So there's no chance making this into a more-night-stand?" she smirked and blushed a little.

"Well, I won't stand in the way," he smiled widely and blushed, too.

"How about you, did you already eat something?" she asked, happy about his answer.

"No...I'm not hungry anyway. Full-moon, remember?" he said casually and shrugged his shoulders.

"Is the headache also caused by it?" she asked and tilted her head worriedly.

"Yeah, but that will go away...the sore muscles will stay with me a bit longer, I'm afraid," he grinned and infected her with it.

.

About 15 minutes later they were standing at the front door together.

"Well..." he murmured.

"Well," she echoed. "I'll see you next week at the order meeting, right?"

"Yes..." he said quietly. "Thank you for last night."

"No reason to thank me," she smiled, got on her tiptoes and gently kissed his cheek before she left through the door with a smile on her face...

* * *

**R&R? :3**


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